The Near Memo

Send us a textThe FTC sent out a letter to many of America’s largest  businesses (Apple, Alphabet, Comcast, Yelp among others) detailing unlawful practices relating to the use of endorsements and testimonials. At first glance it might seem like these companies are doing something wrong, and possibly, some are. But for the most part the FTC, still smarting from their failure to extract fines in the Sunday Riley case, is making sure that they will in fact be able to extract fines if any of these companies violate the testimonial guidelines.Several of us received a folksy looking toy catalog in the mail the other day. Upon closer inspection it was from Amazon. This heavily curated catalog was appealing to the eye but a surprise that it was so lightly branded. Catalogs are expensive to produce, print and mail but it also provides consumers with a handy guide to the best Christmas toys without having to navigate through Amazon’s search engine. Each page contained a QR code that took the buyer directly to the right page to buy just the right toy. Google has long been refining the use of AI to pick which photos to show in search results. Now they are refining how photos can be used to actually search for things you are looking for. Claire Carlisle details her currently unpublished research on how Google Lens is leveraging local AND photo awareness to produce shopping results. This is likely a precursor to the full image + query searches that Google has announced to allow users to “point and ask” by sharing both a photo and a question to surface related results. The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.Near Memo Ep 37Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textSquarespace’s “Everything to Sell Anything,” Google vs. Lowe, and Has the Local Pack Outlived Its Usefulness?The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.Near Memo Ep 36Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textGoogle Lens was first introduced at Google I/O in 2017 and it has become a showcase for Google’s image recognition. Now when paired with MUM, Google’s new language processing, Lens is being enhanced with commerce capability to provide more than just a simple “this is that” answer to uploaded images. One more benchmark as search becomes ever more visual. Yelp is making a strategic pivot from an ad seller to a SAAS company. This is a pivot that is critical for them but will they be trusted in a crowded SMB marketplace?Consumers and the presse, while not wanting to give up the comforts offered by Amazon or Facebook, seem to be increasingly skeptical of new  hardware from either firm. The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.Near Memo Ep 35Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textwix claims to have 210 million users. Since there are only 125 million businesses worldwide and about 30 million in the US, this number is suspect. But when you explore their paying users and their $1.1 B income, it works out to the $175 per user per year. A very reasonable amount given their SMB focus and with lots of opportunities for upselling. The recent past has been unkind to mall based department stores. Bloomies has moved to the street AND gone much smaller, higher tech and customer focused with a test store that heavily curates style trends and provides “stylists” that can actually help you find the right clothing. All in all an interesting retail experience and experiment. What are the implications if something like this were to pass? It could be a cluster-f*** or it could actually provide user agency depending on how it's implemented. We don’t really need more “click seventeen times and still not be sure what you just agreed to websites”. The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.Near Memo Ep 34Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textWith ever increasing ad costs SMBs need to understand customer acquisition costs and lifetime values whether you are a SAAS company or not. This survey of small e-commerce and small business firms  shows they spent approximately $9K on average on marketing annually. Average CAC was just under $60. Reviews can provide an independent look at management issues and consumer trends at large multi-location chains. This 'proof of concept' approach explores Walmart's inventory woes through the lens of local store reviews.Twitter via their Professional Profiles is offering location based businesses a GMB like page. And it turns out, so is WhatsApp. WhatsApp is likely to add commerce and transactional capabilities and our read is that, particularly internationally, is likely to succeed. Twitter, with a long history of failed features beyond the basics, on the other hand is likely not to. The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.Near Memo Ep 33Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a text32% of B2B buyers were willing to spend between $50,000 and up to $500,000 without actually talking to a salesperson. 35% of businesses prefer self service as opposed to talking to either a remote sales person or a field sales person. 6% of iPhone users have opted into apple pay and use it regularly. And this compares to 5% in 2015. Apple’s digital wallet use grew only 20% growth over the past six years. And that is in a year when it should have grown significantly. Although that 6% of Apple users spent $90 billion.Facebook has partnered with Ray Ban to create an always on smart glass that can stream video to all of the major social networks. Is this foray into wearable technology just a Snap me too product or can it help the untrusted Facebook gain a foothold in this new hardware category?The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.Near Memo Ep 32Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a text- Rumors of Intuit buying MailChimp for $10 Billion validate SMB / Agency strategyWith an EBITDA of $300,000 million, MailChimp is apparently going to be sold for an eye popping $10 Billion. With a product forward approach they have built a great product for small business audiences and agencies. While it is a great compliment to Intuit’s other small business products, can Intuit leverage this successful brand or will they fail as they have in other acquisitions?- Will 1-800-Contacts suing Warby Parker over trade name use in Adwords upend the rules?1-800 Contacts takes a very aggressive stance claiming that Warby Parker Adwords ads infringed on its trademarks and deceived customers.They allege that Warby Parker bought advertisements tied to Google and other searches of the 1-800 Contacts brand, ads which route consumers to a page on Warby Parker's website that, according to the plaintiff, "mimics key elements of the 1-800 Contacts website." Will the rules around advertising against a trade name change?- PE firm Apollo Completes Yahoo Acquisition, will Yahoo succeed?Among "internet insiders" and urban sophisticates, there's a tendency to dismiss Yahoo. However in many areas of the US, Yahoo's brand remains viable. One question: will Apollo invest in the company or just extract cash? The endgame is likely a return to the public markets. But that requires a growth story.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textAn unusually assertive Biden who noted that this 40-year “experiment” has failed. “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism,” he proclaimed at the signing of the executive order. “It’s exploitation.” It remains to be seen if real changes will occur but this is the first time in recent memory that a President has made it clear that the whole of the executive branch is responsible for increasing competitiveness.  Craigslist has seen a decline of almost 50% over the past 3 years with much of that loss going to Facebook Marketplaces. Can Nextdoor take advantage of this?NYC has recently passed a law requiring that businesses post notice of any biometric tracking taking place and prevent them from selling that data. Will this increased awareness of the increasing use of Facial recognition technology change consumer behaviors or will it require additional intervention to allow them to prevent this>The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.EP 31 Near MemoSubscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a textWalmart is doing something that would have been unthinkable in a pre-Amazon world: offering its delivery infrastructure to other retailers. Announced earlier this week, the last-mile delivery service is called GoLocal. It's being provided on a white-labeled basis to any retailer regardless of size. The SMB social media disconnect: what SMBs THINK consumers want is not what they wantNew data from Constant Contact suggests social is less efficient than SMBs think. The report says, "almost half of small businesses feel social media is the most effective channel for driving business results." Yet consumers are more likely to buy something after receiving an email or text from a business.With recent roll out of Apple Map reviews, how should a business or agency be thinking about them?Apple iPhones represent a well heeled clientele and send a lot of traffic to SMBS. Just how much of that represents users discovering your business is hard to determine but Apple is clearly committed to improving their discovery search and results. Reviews are part and parcel of that improvement and Apple Map reviews are one more place where users can learn more about your reputation. The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.Near Memo Ep 30Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

Send us a text Agency’s amended complaint details how the monopolist survived existential threats by illegally acquiring innovative competitors and burying successful app developers. But will the agency be able to 1)prove that Facebook is in fact a monopoly and 2) can they overcome the fact that the FTC previously approved the buyouts?CallRail surveyed 600 US-based businesses across various industries and the news is good for agencies although tell a tale of marketing difficulties for SMBs with only 49% having a dedicated website In this exclusive Near Media interview, Miriam Ellis details how the co-op model can help build sustainable restaurant delivery that's better for restaurants and local communities.The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/